Things are going to change a little bit when Rick and Morty Season 7 premieres, but, hopefully, fans of one of the funniest, and simply best, sci-fi TV shows in recent memory will not even notice the difference. In addition to cutting ties with series co-creator Justin Roiland following his charges of domestic abuse, Adult Swim has made to decision to continue on with the show and find a replacement actor to voice all of the characters he also plays.
Roiland — whose additional voice acting credits have included Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and the Hulu original Solar Opposites, the latter of which he also co-created — actually outranks every other member of the Rick and Morty voice cast in terms of how many characters they play, similar to how Seth MacFarlane's voice makes up half of the Griffins, among other characters on Family Guy. It could very likely take more than one person to fill all of the shoes he has left, giving how eclectic this bunch of characters is, as you can see by checking out this breakdown below.
Rick Sanchez
Imagine if Doc Brown — Back to the Future’s eccentric, time-traveling nuclear physicist played by Christopher Lloyd, who actually played a live-action Rick in a funny promo — was a cynical, hard-drinking, emotionally reclusive narcissist. The result, in essence, would be Rick Sanchez, who is the smartest person in the Rick and Morty universe, but even unmatched intelligence has not prevented him from causing trouble for his family, those who just barely count as his “friends,” and every other living being, numerous times.
It might not actually be too difficult for Roiland’s replacement to match the cadence and mannerisms of the problematic scientist. In fact, the actor has demonstrated that getting hammered is often involved with the recording process. So, while we would never normally advise ingesting alcoholic beverages on the job, we suppose we can make a special case for the next Rick voice actor.
Morty Smith
The Marty McFly to Rick’s Doc Brown is his grandson, Morty, whose struggle with the common pressures of being a teen are only worsened by the increasingly dangerous situations Rick puts him through on a regular basis. However, the younger child of the Smith family has had his moments of showing genuine courage and bold confidence that has helped get himself and others out of a jam, even though years of trauma under his grandfather’s supervision is likely the cause.
Whoever does step in to play the first half of Rick and Morty’s titular duo likely could also play the younger second half as well, since the most distinct differences between their voices are the cadence and pitch. However, it is the complexity of Morty’s overall well-being — which can vary greatly episode to episode — that will be most challenging to match.
Mr. Poopybutthole
The differences between Morty’s voice and that of Mr. Poopybutthole are even less so, meaning even if he and Rick are played by different actors, the Morty actor could still easily play this fan-favorite. When we first met this bizarre character in one of the best episodes of Rick and Morty, “Total Rickall,” it was understandably assumed that he was merely the product of a memory-altering parasite infecting the Smith household.
However, by the Season 2 classic’s shocking end, we learn that the top hat-wearing, inter-dimensional professor of mysterious origin was actually real the whole time. Since then, he has become one of the series’ most popular recurring characters, most often for fourth wall-breaking inserts, but the refreshing burst of optimism that comes with his presence in whatever capacity would be missed if the role was retired with Roiland’s exit.
Mr. Meeseeks
Another highly optimistic and a very helpful fan-favorite recurring character is Mr. Meeseeks, who is not just one person (and not even really a person, at that). As we learn in his (or their, more accurately) debut episode, “Meeseeks and Destroy,” they are summoned by the push of a button on a Meeseeks Box to help a person with a certain request and, once it is achieved, they no longer exist.
No edition of these powder-blue humanoids has made an official appearance on Rick and Morty since Season 4, but I think fans can agree that it is always fun to “look at him” every once in a while. Hopefully, they can help make somebody’s life easier in Season 7 and with an actor who can match their unnaturally high pitch.
Other Known Characters
We have pretty much covered all of the roles voiced by Roiland on Rick and Morty that count as main or recurring characters. However, there is still a chance we could see some minor one-offs return, such as the planet-sized, head-shaped Cromulons (as seen in the beloved classic episode,”Get Schwifty,”) or the Vindicators’ under-appreciated intern, Noob-Noob, who has only made a couple of non-speaking cameos since his Season 3 debut.
I would also like some indication of the all-knowing Truth Tortoise’s whereabouts, some confirmation that Mr. Always Wants To Be Hunted is actually of the same species as Mr. Poopybutthole if he ever returns, and maybe even a cameo by Glar (who helped Rick pull off a heist). More than anything, I would love to see any of the characters he voiced in the Interdimensional Cable episodes appear in their own follow-up segments — such as electronics store owner Ants in my Eyes Johnson, movie star Jan Michael Vincent, or another character who closely resembles Mr. Poopybutthole named Stealy.
The world may have actually already found the perfect replacement for Justin Roiland in the form of voice actor Sean Kelly, who has demonstrated his talents for flawlessly impersonating not just Rick or Morty, but also Mr. Meeseeks, on TikTok. Considering how impressively he can manage voicing those three important characters, I think it is safe to assume that Mr. Poopybutthole and any of the other smaller one-off characters we have mentioned would be a breeze for him as well. Just imagine what new characters an actor of his talent may also be able to create for the show. Wubba-lubba-dub-dub!
